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Essay / Comparison Bartleby The Scrivener - 1201
In “Bartleby, the Scrivener” and “Cathedral,” the emotional distance between the narrators and the characters serves to contrast and develop the narrators as well as to depict the characters as hero. This emotional distance between characters narrows as the stories progress. This is because the distance between the narrator and the character was due to mutual incomprehension. In both stories, the narrator was unable to fully understand the character due to their vast differences. The differences between the narrator and the character help create a contrast between them. In “Cathedral”, a blind man can live his life to the fullest while the narrator, without disabilities, stays at home and drinks his life away. The blind man always embodies an optimist. The narrator's wife constantly suffered from a lack of friends or leisure activities, culminating in a failed suicide attempt. After giving the details of her failed attempt, the narrator says: “She put it all on tape and sent it to the blind man[. . .] I think it was his main means of recreation” (34). This statement is vital because the bands were a form of recreation for the woman, something she previously lacked. Without the blind man, the woman might have attempted suicide again and succeeded. The blind man is therefore a hero for having saved the woman's life. Although Bartleby did not save a life, he is still considered a hero for taking a stand against working society. Throughout the story, Bartleby responds to the lawyer "I would rather not do it", which is a passive way of saying no. Bartleby was asked to work his life away with no real benefit. Responding “I would prefer not to” is a way for him to stand up and finally say no to the system. At the end of the story, Bartleby refuses to eat and dies of hunger and grief. When he commits suicide for his cause, he becomes a martyr for others. One character saves a life while the other character commits suicide, but they are both undeniably heroes in their own right.